In the Footsteps of Petrus Alamire

Et’Cetera KTC 1519

Calligrapher, singer, composer,
merchant, messenger, and spy, Petrus
Alamire (c.1470-1536) was a tireless
collector and copyist in Burgundian
Hapsburg employ. More than 600 works, including
161 Masses,
appear in the 50 manuscripts he amassed, many by
the greatest northern European composers of his age.
In the Footsteps of Petrus Alamire comprises five CDs
recorded by seven ensembles, raided from the
label’s back-catalogue. It’s a curate’s egg, both in
performance and recording
quality: parts are very, very good, notably
contributions from
Henry’s Eight and Capilla Flamenca, and there’s
loads of interesting stuff, mostly from well-known composers like
Ockeghem,
Isaac, Willaert, and Mouton.